For years there’s been a steady drumbeat of inquiries from Armenian-American fans of the show: “When will you visit Armenia?” “Why haven’t you been to my country?”

They were very legitimate and increasingly troublesome questions. I wanted to go. I had every intention of going. But I had yet to figure out how or—more accurately—through whose eyes, through what perspective I’d look at this very old and very complicated country.

Then, out of the blue, Serj Tankian, the lead singer of the band System of a Down reached out, and I had my answer. Serj, like so many Armenian-Americans, has been trying to reconnect with his roots. His personal history, like the histories of many people who identify as Armenian, is with the diaspora—those who escaped or were pushed out by what can and should only be called a genocide. It should be noted that Turkey continues to deny a genocide ever took place.

But I have no problem using that word. I am both proud to use it and baffled by the world’s continued reluctance to call the Turks’ carefully planned and executed murder in 1915 of an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians—and the displacement of millions more—anything but what it was.

Those horrendous events and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge them remain central to any discussion of Armenia—a fundamental, unifying factor in defining what it means to be Armenian.

Armenia finds itself situated in a tricky piece of real estate. It borders adversaries Turkey and Azerbaijan and has a complicated, if close, relationship with nearby Russia. Approximately 80 percent of its borders are closed.

It is unlikely I will be welcome in Turkey after this show. Because I filmed in the disputed territory of Artsakh, I was informed that I have been PNG’d (declared officially “persona non grata”) in Azerbaijan.

The connection, the collective yearning, and the flow of money, resources, and people from the Armenian diaspora back into the homeland are powerful and important—as you will see. They are also vital to the nation’s survival. An astonishing amount of money is returning home from abroad—for schools, hospitals, and institutions—to help the country grow. And an ever larger number of overseas Armenians are returning, to see where they came from, to enjoy the food, and to reconnect—if they still can—with family, tradition, a way of life.

Serj Tankian is one such story. I’m grateful to him for sharing it with me.

A couple weeks ago, my parents and I sat down to watch the new episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” about Armenia, a country whose tragic and resilient history is inextricably interwoven with my family’s own. We’re used to seeing its stories flattened into allegory, its defining genocide swept aside, its unique position in history dismissed. But we were still optimistic when we pressed play, having come to trust Bourdain’s clear-eyed and curious approach to the world over years of watching him travel it on both CNN’s “Parts Unknown” andhis nine-season Travel Channel show “No Reservations.” Given his passion, generosity, and the increasingly rare grace to know when his perspective might not be the most illuminating, we expected him to not just tell Armenia’s story, but to let Armenia tell its own story through good food and conversations broached in good faith. Sure enough, the episode made for one of the most considerate portraits of the country we’d ever seen for an audience that otherwise might never have considered it in as much depth.

Taking even a cursory glance around the internet in the wake of Bourdain’s sudden death proves that we’re far from the only ones who feel this way about how he approached his work. Over the years, Bourdain’s approach to his shows became less about what he was going to eat and more about who he was going to meet. He made a concerted effort to resist the idea that his breadth of experience made him an expert in any given cuisine. As “Parts Unknown” producer Chris Collins told The New Yorker last year, Bourdain came to insist that episodes include more footage of daily life than that of him eating, adopting a mantra of “more B[-roll], less me.”

So, yes, Bourdain’s shows are ostensibly windows into, well, “parts unknown” for people who may never physically step foot there, whether “there” means Cuba, the Congo, Mexico, or Iran. But they are also empathetic portraits that mean a whole lot for the people who do know those places intimately. What made them special was how he not only acknowledged that he was a tourist, but happily let locals who knew better lead the way to the next meal or landmark, knowing that their choices would better reflect their cultures.

In his quest to understand a country using food as his baseline, Bourdain made a point of eschewing tasting menus for local markets, late night street meat, and home-cooked meals. Sure, he appreciated fine dining (his “No Reservations” episode about Spain’s legendary restaurant El Bulli is a series highlight). But more often than not, he was more than happy with a heaping bowl of whatever meat his host put in front of him. Even the most vaunted chefs, Bourdain constantly reminded his viewers, owe everything to the everyday kitchens that first taught them what loving food could truly mean.

In a time when so many people are willfully sharpening their distrust of anyone who doesn’t look or act exactly like them, Bourdain’s ethos of reaching out and finding shared truths with anyone willing to do it feels particularly, painfully vital. Bourdain consistently gave the floor to people who lived, breathed, and cooked the culture in order to understand it better. He didn’t always succeed at the (admittedly mammoth) task of painting a complete picture of a country in 45 minutes or less, but he always strived to do right by his hosts, granting them the same generosity they bestowed upon him. He realized that he could travel virtually anywhere and find someone who would be happy to share a meal and a laugh, and that showing as much could be more than enough. As he showed time and time again, it could even be extraordinary.

PanARMENIAN.Net - System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian has said that he is utterly shocked by the news of Anthony Bourdain’s passing.

Bourdain, a gifted storyteller and writer who took TV viewers around the world, has at age 61. CNN confirmed Bourdain's death on Friday, June 8 and said the cause of death was suicide.

"We have lost an honest broker of life, cuisine, culture and truth," Tankian said in a Facebook post.

"I was honored to have spent time with him in Armenia for CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Our love and condolences go out to his family and all those he touched with his beautiful spirit."

Bourdain visited Armenia to shoot an entertaining episode for his "Parts Unknown" series. He took a wide-angle look at the culture and history of this country, with musician of Armenian descent Serj Tankian (System of a Down), and historian/Armenian resident Richard Giragosian as his guides.

A friend forwarded to me the copy of a lengthy email that was sent byIbrahim Kurtulus, a Turkish-American from New York City, to hundredsof CNN employees harshly criticizing Anthony Bourdain, Chris Cuomo andothers for acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. The subject ofKurtulus’ email is titled: “When CNN’s Chris Cuomo and ‘Especially’Anthony Bourdain Legitimize RACISM.”

By an unfortunate coincidence, the Turkish email was sent on June 5,2018, barely three days before Bourdain committed suicide. Given thelarge number of Armenians and non-Armenians who have written in recentdays expressing their unfounded suspicion that Azerbaijan or Turkeycaused Bourdain’s death, I want to make it clear that I do not believein such conspiracies. Sadly, Bourdain, who had used drugs for manyyears, was a heavy drinker and suffered from serious depression, isreported to have committed suicide in his hotel room during a visit toFrance last week.

In addition, those who propagate such conspiracies are damagingArmenian interests. Anthony Bourdain, who had the popular TV traveland food show “Parts Unknown” on CNN, was blacklisted by Azerbaijanfor having gone to Artsakh after visiting Armenia late last year. Theshow aired on CNN last month to the great delight of Armeniansworldwide and dismay of Azeris and Turks. By alleging that Azerbaijankilled Bourdain, Armenians are simply discouraging non-Armenians fromvisiting Artsakh.

Kurtulus also attacked Chris Cuomo of CNN for interviewing on his showCong. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Kurtulus described Schiff as “a racist”for championing the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and comparedhim with David Duke of the Ku Klux Klan. Kurtulus then picked onCongresswoman Nanci Pelosi (D-Calif.) for acknowledging the ArmenianGenocide in her 2016 statement. Kurtulus ridiculously claimed thatArmenians may have died of “old age” rather than being murdered duringthe Genocide.

Kurtulus also blasted Amy Goodman, host of the award-winning‘Democracy Now!’—a TV/Radio news program that airs on 900 publicbroadcast stations in North America—for acknowledging the ArmenianGenocide in her show.

Kurtulus not only denied the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide bycalling it a ‘hoax,” but turned around and blamed Armenians forcommitting an “extermination campaign against Turks.” He also falselyclaimed that “a systematic extermination campaign against Armenianswould have been not only unlikely, but out of the question.”

Kurtulus then criticized Anthony Bourdain for accompanying SerjTankian on his trip to Armenia and Artsakh. Kurtulus described Tankianas “a member of an Armenian-American heavy metal band (System of aDown), a major insidious purpose of which has been to brainwashworldwide youthful fans into acceptance of an ‘Armenian genocide.’”Kurtulus went on to accuse Bourdain of repeating “all of the hatefulpropaganda in his episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3oEJjTbDpo).”

After comparing Bourdain to white ‘supremacists’ in Charlottville,Virginia, Kurtulus asked: “what is the difference?” Regrettably,Kurtulus defamed anyone who has supported the veracity of the ArmenianGenocide. It is no one else’s fault that the Ottoman Turkishgovernment organized the extermination of the Armenian people. If, asa result, the Turkish nation has had a horrible reputation, it iswrong to blame it on the Armenian victims. Kurtulus’ argument is theequivalent of condemning anyone who speaks about the Jewish Holocaustbecause that may tarnish the reputation of Germans.

Kurtulus then disparaged all of the scholars who have written on theArmenian Genocide, in addition to Amb. Henry Morgenthau who hadwritten an eyewitness account in his book, The Murder of a Nation.Instead, Kurtulus praised so-called ‘scholars’ who are genocidedenialists funded by the Turkish government.

Kurtulus ended his email with more insults directed at Bourdain: “If Ilived in a less racist society, Anthony Bourdain would be losing hisjob in a moment. Yet the problem does not only rest with hatefulbigots such as Anthony Bourdain; why did [CNN] President Jeff Zucker,who has also been receiving our communications, allow for Bourdain’svicious racism?”

Kurtulus also blamed other CNN employees for not protesting “AnthonyBourdain’s irresponsibility, hatefulness and corruption of the facts.…How could CNN journalists exercise any tolerance over AnthonyBourdain’s prejudices, as well as his twisting of the facts?”

Rather than countering the many lies and distortions of Kurtulus, Iwill simply quote from Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the TurkishRepublic, who during an interview published by the Los AngelesExaminer on August 1, 1926, confessed: “These leftovers from theformer Young Turk Party, who should have been made to account for thelives of millions of our Christian subjects who were ruthlessly drivenen masse from their homes and massacred, have been restive under theRepublican rule. They have hitherto lived on plunder, robbery andbribery, and become inimical to any idea or suggestion to enlist inuseful labor and earn their living by the honest sweat of their brow.”

Since I have received a copy of the Kurtulus email along with thecomplete list of hundreds of email addresses at CNN where hedispatched his email, I will send my article to the same emailaddresses so CNN journalists will not be deceived by Kurtulus.